Alternate Path
by Lady Flame1
Summary: What if Anakin hadn’t died? What if fate had been changed…by Jacen? What if it was all different? has a little bit of torture but not to explicit. R&R please!!! oh, and if you dont like Jacen i suggest you dont read this because he is the center


Disclaimer: if I owned this I would 1) be extremely rich 2) not be writing this.   
You do the math.  
  
Note: this story is centered around Jacen. It starts during "Star by Star" and   
will either go to the end or however long I feel like writing.   
  
Summery: What if Anakin hadn't died? What if fate had been changed…by   
Jacen? What if it was all different?  
  
Note: sorry if I don't follow the story exactly but if it doesn't fir the story it is   
gone.  
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   
  
Jacen looked around at the assembled Jedi. They had all agreed to Anakin's   
plan but he was worried. 'What if Anakin can't handle it?' he thought, by no   
means did he think his brother incapable of leading, but…as they all were, he   
was still so young. Was it possible for the stress of all their lives in his hands be   
too much? He looked at his brother and saw him explaining his plan. The   
decided strike team had been left with Lando to work out the particulars of the   
mission.  
***********  
Jaina sighed and rested her head in he hands. The meeting had been on a roll   
until Lando had brought up the topic that set her two brothers apart…when   
does their actions become dark side?  
"I've had a brainstorm Little Brother!" she yelled.  
Both he and her twin looked at her and simultaneously raised one eyebrow,   
causing her to choke back a laugh before speaking.  
"What if we what the Tails did?" she said, using the codename the Barbels   
had, " And like that time in the asteroid field. We could all meld to help each   
other out. But we would need Jacen because he is the only one with enough   
empathic ability to support it."  
Anakin nodded and turned to Jacen, "You will have to do what I tell you to   
Jacen. If not…" he let that hang.  
"I trust you Ani, I really do" Jacen sighed and held out his hand, "I'm just   
concerned about all of us."  
Anakin grinned at the old nickname and reached out to grab his sibling's   
hand, "So am I brother, so am I."  
"Okay!" Lando broke in, "Hate to stop this tender moment but if your gonna'   
pull of this meld thing, you should probably practice it."  
"This is a fact." Tenel Ka said, "You go brief your crew on the plan, we will   
work on this."  
**********  
Several days later everything was ready. Every detail was accounted for,   
including the Yuuzahn Vong force looking over Lando's shoulder at the image   
of the young Jedi.  
"There they are." Lando said, "I'll have my people get them."  
"Bring them to the point where our ships meet. We will be waiting."  
Lando nodded and signaled his people to move. 'Hope your ready for this   
kids. Here they come.'  
**********  
:They're coming: Anakin said into their minds. Jacen spread his mind out and   
began to weave them together. He felt many emotions and couldn't tell whose   
they were. He sent calm radiating along the strands of the web and felt the   
storm pacify. Three men walked in the door, each with a blaster. Anakin's   
hand drifted to where his lightsaber had been but then stopped when he   
remembered they had left them with the druids. Lowie, Raynar and Alema   
leapt to their feet and were quickly dropped by blaster fire. Jacen, as the center   
of the web, stifled a groan as he felt their pain. Ganner stood but froze as the   
blaster was trained on him.  
"Don't move and you'll all live." the leader said, and then added, "For now."   
he then turned and left, motioning for the Jedi to carry their companions.   
Tenel Ka reached over and pulled Jacen up and led him out of the room.   
Anakin walked next to Jacen and noted that his eyes seemed to be glazed over.  
"Jacen?" he asked. His brother looked at him but the glaze was still there.  
"Yes Ani?" Jacen said, "Something wrong?"  
"Are you ok?" he asked, "You don't look so good."  
A small grin appeared on his brothers too pale face, "I'm trying to make the   
meld as strong as possible. I have a feeling we're gonna' need it."  
Anakin looked at him for a moment then nodded, "Be careful. I want   
everyone to come out of this alive." He said before starting forward, but paused   
as Jacen grabbed his arm.  
"I'll be careful as long as you promise not to die on me. I still want someone to   
argue with."  
Ani stared, then laughed softly when he realized Jacen was very subtly telling   
him he cared, "You got it Bro!" he answered with a smirk.  
Tenel Ka pulled them to a stop suddenly as they reached the hanger, then   
lurched forward a blunt amphistaff struck her between the shoulders. Though   
the Yuuzahn Vong had hit her, Anakin noticed that Jacen winced in pain.  
"You double crossing son of a Bantha!" Ganner yelled from the front, playing   
the part of the leader, "You sold us…!" he was cut off as the Yuuzahn Vong   
backhanded him. Ganner got back to his feet and Anakin saw Jacen wipe his   
face with his hand and it came away bloody, as though he had split his lip. Ani   
looked to Tenel Ka and saw that she too had noticed but before he could   
comment, she jerked her head towards the locker they had stored the blasters   
in. The message was clear, they must complete the plan. Anakin reached out   
with the Force, ripped open the locker and tossed the blasters to his friends.  
"Don't move." Ulaha said, then fired when Lando moved towards them. The   
blaster sparked in her hands but did nothing more. Lando grabbed the blaster   
and flipped the power pack, "Never have working weapons on board if your   
gonna' sell out Jedi." He said.  
The others tried to fix their blasters but stopped when the Vong jumped them.   
Anakin fell under a hail of blows but couldn't feel any. The beating abruptly   
stopped as a scream rang throughout the room. Duman Yaght stalked over to   
his subordinate and looked down at Ulaha. The Bith was sprawled out at their   
feet with an amphistaff buried in her back. Duman Yaght reached down and   
wrenched the weapon out of her back and a flash of pain rolled across the   
meld.  
"Get them on the ship." He ordered, gesturing to the Jedi.  
Jaina pulled her little brother of the floor, "You ok?" she asked.  
Anakin nodded, "Doesn't hurt at all." He answered, "Where's Jacen?"  
His sister pointed over to where her twin was being held up by Tenel Ka and   
Lowie. He started towards them but was pushed towards the Vong ship.   
Jaina fell into step beside him, "Why are you so worried about Jacen?" she   
asked.  
"Aren't I allowed to be concerned for my older brother?" Anakin snapped, the   
sighed as she raised an eyebrow, "I believe that Jacen is using the meld to   
prevent us from feeling pain, but I think that he is feeling all the pain himself   
instead of us."  
Jaina gasped and stared at her twin, "B…but that could kill him."  
Ani nodded and they both looked back to where their brother was virtually   
being carried by Lowbacca. Jacen must have sensed their attention because he   
turned towards them and offered a weak grin in their direction. Ani sighed,   
his questions would have to wait.  
**********  
Jacen groaned softly. They were being held in a small room, tied to the floor   
with their backs to the middle of the room, which was being used to torture   
them, one at a time. The position alone was uncomfortable, coupled with the   
pain of the torture from the last few days it was excruciating. Add to that the   
fact that he was absorbing all the others pain, leaving only enough to let them   
know the needed treatment when they escaped, it was agonizingly unbearable.   
And yet he continued, never letting his own pain of emotions onto the meld.   
He earned a concerned glace from his brother when he moaned as Duman   
Yaght dropped acid into the gapping hole in Ulaha's back. Jacen was jerked   
back to the present when he felt Jaina's panic through the meld.  
"Choose Jeedi." Someone said, "Who is next? Your brother or your twin?"   
Jacen could hear the sneer in the Vong's voice. He was enjoying the emotional   
turmoil Jaina was going through. Blind rage swept through him. 'How dare   
he!' Jacen thought, 'how dare he do that to my twin! My other half!'   
Suddenly the voxyn used to torture them broke free of the tethers holding it   
and turned on the Vong in the room. Duman Yaght cried out in shock then   
in pain as it sent it's barbed tail through his throat, then turned to rip off the   
head of the last Vong…then it paused, as if unsure of what to do. Jacen stared   
at it in amazement, and then had an idea. :Come: he thought at it, :free me.:   
To his complete surprise, it obeyed. The voxyn weaved through the restrained   
Jedi till it reached Jacen. He heard Zekk gasp as the creature lifted a taloned   
paw. It brought those claws down through the restraint in Jacen then stepped   
back and looked at him, as if waiting for instructions. He tentatively reached   
out for the creatures face.  
"Jacen no!" Alema hissed in his direction.  
"I think it's ok," he answered, his hand moving closer, "Ani, call for the droids   
but don't let then shoot it." His hand touched the voxyn's face and he closed   
his eyes ad his and the beasts mind merged. 


End file.
